Airline Food: Is it Really Better?

First it was free, and while people joked about it, they ate it. Then free food mostly disappeared in U.S. domestic skies, and replacement offerings hardly seemed worth the cost. Salami sticks, anyone?

Clearly, airlines have a long way to go to turn stomachs and change perceptions. Piggybacking on established brands and celebrity chefs can help, and sales per flight have been up some. But many airports have very good offerings, and restaurants have made it easy to grab and go. Why not buy a sure thing before you get on a flight rather than take your chances with airplane food? Even if there is a good choice for sale, the airline might run out before you get a chance to have your credit card swiped.

Have you noticed a difference? Are you willing to buy a salad, sandwich or even sushi from an airline? And what would you like to see airlines do at mealtime? Try something new and different, or just get out of food sales? Leave comments below.

Comments (5 of 33)

i just flew on a couple airlines and the new programs were very good. A nice fresh meal. Stop your whining. America is an awesome country that finds a way to give us food, wifi, and other options whereever you go. We are bouncing back from 911 give the airlines a break they are just coming back to us crabby cheap travelers.

I eat when I am hungry and don't when i am not. Why dont you whiners not eat at all. You are lucky that they even offer something to you. they are probably the only people that talk to you anyways b/c they have to.

Put that in your coffee.

6:26 pm September 8, 2009

Boraxo wrote :

Wow - I'd love to have a $10 upgrade to a sushi meal (depite the pathetic looking salad) but it isn't offered by United, Delta or American.

I never did understand why airlines can't upgrade their meal service to match what is offered by many chains. How hard would it be to have Quizno's prepare thousands of subs for your planes? I bet you many people would gladly pay $10 for a decent sub instead of the usual airline crap.

Isn't it amazing that airlines can figure out how to charge for baggage, but can't seem to figure out how to properly cater meals. So many flights have no meals despite demand. Lost revenue as well as a lost chance to make your customers happy.

7:26 pm September 6, 2009

BDavis says buckle up ! wrote :

Philthy Phlier gets it. Once upon a time......a flying passenger enjoyed lots of service and amenities....in a timely manner. They paid for it too. The airlines could still serve hot meals.....but ticket prices would skyrocket. An airline meal is one of the most expensive meals you will ever pay for. So many hands involved in prepping the food, transporting the food to the docks, catering trucks, from the catering trucks to the airplanes and then delivering the food to the passenger inflight. Then labor to transport everything back. Alot of labor, fuel and truck upkeep....this drives up ticket prices. Airline ticket prices plunged.......thus the airline experience is now equal to shopping at Walmart. Staffing levels have been reduced by half.....meanwhile more people travel because its more affordable than the bus. Less employees to care for more flyers. The airline employees can barely perform their duties on a day to day basis.....which means passengers need to lower their expectations regarding personal attention.......don't expect any love from the employees........all have had salaries, benefits and pensions severely impacted by reduced air fares.....the traveling public only cares about getting that cheap ticket and not paying extra for service. Employees will go above and beyond for a loyal customer or business traveler....people willing to pay for extra service. Not the family who dresses for the beach instead a cross country flight at 39,000 ft., attempts to be a hassle at every opportunity, and then trashes their row when they leave. Flight crews care about your safety 100%. Flight crews know the people who complain the most, paid the least. Flight crews know passengers will whine......but the first sign of trouble.....they will come running to a flight attendant. Flight crews can also be fined personally by the FAA for not requiring passengers to comply with the safety regulations. Cheap tickets combined with safety and attentive service are a conflict of interest. Employees who have been with the airlines for years will continue to leave in droves in the next few years......the lower ticket prices go.....the more the travel experience will decay. Passengers don't like the travel experience now......just wait.

6:14 pm September 6, 2009

Philthy Phlier wrote :

As a person who’s been involved in the airlines for years I think the flying public is funny. Firstly, you shouldn’t be worried about eating on a plane; you should be trying to stay hydrated. Only in the US where we have an obesity problem would we be having a discussion about not getting a full meal on a 1.5 hour flight. Sad but true.

“They” complained about the food when there were full meals made and cooked and served on the spot – not “tray” service we saw in the 80s and 90s. The tickets then before deregulation were outrageous and flying was considered something of class and stature. A flight from Metropolis to Smallville then before dereg would cost you $500-700 one way. BECAUSE IT WAS REGULATED. The only thing airlines could do was provide service better than their completion if they wanted more customers.

Now we’re deregulated. The food is gone. “They” complain now that there is no food and that the ticket price is too high. Wait – What? We can now fly from Metropolis to Smallville for $69 one way. On some flights that won’t even cover the cost of the gas it will take to transport your 150lbs body and your 50lbs bag and some of these flights operate at a loss because they can make the money up on the connecting flight ticket price.

You want cheap tickets or food? Pick one. While I think it would be great to have every person getting first class service with a full meal and drinks but the fact is that people just won’t pay for it. Everyone wants something for nothing. Look at frequent flier programs, that focuses on the number one human emotion: greed.

The meals you buy on planes are usually quite unhealthy, some have things like mayo already distributed on them and then not kept in proper conditions and this can lead to germs or disease. You don’t know who prepared them and that happened to them.

A question though: Do you really need a meal service on a flight less than 3-4 hours?
If you do; bring your own food. Bring Salt and a few lemon slices too.

During drink service in flight ask for and ice water and an extra glass. Take the extra glass and in it place a pinch of salt, squeeze one lemon slice, add water – stir. You now have a balanced electrolyte solution to help keep you hydrated while you eat your healthy meal from home that you know you packed with clean hands and kept cool till you could eat.

Oh and don’t even think about drinking coffee on a plane. Those pots never get cleaned. Ever.

4:58 pm September 6, 2009

Karen wrote :

Gee, Cynthia, $55k per year to pour sodas, pass out peanuts and make idle chit-chat while waiting for the rare "mechanical failure" sounds like a pretty good deal--unless you want a "mechanical failure" on every flight so you can show off your safety skills. Unfortunately, the PTB have decreed that, absent a "mechanical failure" on every flight, flight attendants get to play Airline Goodwill Ambassador to the thick-headed and occasionally obnoxious Flying Public who are paying their salaries. You had to have known that when you decided to become an FA. I know that the Flying Public is getting ruder and more demanding (n.b., rude and demanding isn't limited to those who fly, no way, no how), but if performing all the duties your employer has assigned you has become too onerous, perhaps you should consider a new career.

About The Middle Seat Terminal

Scott McCartney writes The Middle Seat every Thursday. The Wall Street Journal’s Travel Editor, Scott has been on the airline beat since 1995 — long enough to see it go from bust to boom and back to bust. He also writes a blog on travel at The Middle Seat Terminal.

Scott won the Online News Association award for online commentary in 2003 for “The Middle Seat,” the George Polk Award for transportation reporting in 2000, and has been honored by the Deadline Club and New York’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Before joining the Journal in 1993, he spent 11 years at The Associated Press.

Scott, a native of Boston and graduate of Duke University, is the author of four books, includingThe Wall Street Journal Guide to Power Travel: How to Arrive with Your Dignity, Sanity, and Wallet Intact, which was published in 2009. He’s also an instrument-rated private pilot.